Your Legal Corner: Identity theft

Today, Your Legal Corner explores what to do if your identity is stolen.

Victoria M. Dalton

Horrific would not define what a victim of identity theft goes through. What a person does not know can severely jeopardize his or her well being, from financial ruin to defamation of character and reputation.

Fortunately, there are resources available to help identify, combat, and protect the public before and after an identity theft has occurred.

IDENTIFY

In order to recognize identity theft, we need to explore the term. Identity theft is when a someone steals another's information to use for some form of economic gain. It is a serious crime.

Identity theft in most instances carries a maximum term of 15 years imprisonment, a fine, and criminal forfeiture of any property used or intended for use to commit the offense.

Other federal offenses such as credit card fraud, computer fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud or financial institution fraud, carry penalties as high as 30 years imprisonment, fines and criminal forfeiture.

Identity theft can take place in public or within the privacy of your home. How many of us use cell phones in public? Often, we are relaying personal information while seated in a restaurant or just walking through the mall.

According to the Department of Justice, this is where “shoulder surfing” happens. Criminals are watching and listening from a nearby location as you reveal personal information or key in a private PIN.

In your home, criminals may gain access to your mail through “Dumpster dives,” going through your trash to obtain copies of important information. Even junk mail may prove valuable when it has your name, address and who knows what else.

Or, have you ever received bogus e-mails requesting money on behalf of a stranded friend in a far away country? Your information can be passed through your computer to the Internet, through phony websites asking for passwords and codes.

Once a criminal retrieves your information, he is able to secure loans, purchase products and retrieve funds from private accounts to name just a few examples. So, how do we combat identity theft?

COMBAT

The Federal Trade Commission at www.justice.gov recommends three actions immediately.

(1) Contact the fraud department of each of the three major credit bureaus.

(2) Contact the creditors for all accounts opened or tampered with.

(3) File a report with the Prosecutor's office and local police station.

PROTECT

In an effort to protect the public at large and minimize damages, report identity theft to the following agencies: Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-IDTHEFT, the Social Security Administration at 1-800-269-0271, and Internal Revenue at 1-800-829-0433.

Also contact the three credit reporting agencies: Equifax at 1-800-525-6285, Experian at 1-888-EXPERIAN and Trans Union at 1-800 680-7289. In other words, contact all creditors and financial institutions where your identifying information has been or could be used.

Further, contact your county Consumer Protection Agency.

To prevent or minimize the risk of identity theft, always secure all personal information and limit information provided to unknown telephone callers, Internet questionnaires, purchase websites and in public.

Identity theft insurance is also available. If this option is a good choice for you, check out Bestidentityprotection.net for reviews of the top five service providers.

In order to minimize exposure toward identity theft, commit the following to memory: identify, combat and protect. One final word of caution… when in doubt “SHRED”!

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Kindly note, Your Legal Corner is meant solely as a guide and should not be construed as legal advice.

Next week, YLC delves into what you need to know before transferring the family home into the names of the children. Victoria M. Dalton, Esquire is a Family/ Elder Law Attorney, Of Counsel with the Law Firm of Hoffman DiMuzio, 35 Hunter Street, Woodbury, N.J. 08096. To contact Victoria, e-mail her at vdalton@hdhlaw.com, or phone 856- 812-0706 or 856-845-8243.